


together

by seothsayers



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Despair, Established Relationship, Hopeful Ending, Injury, M/M, day 3: choices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28384425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seothsayers/pseuds/seothsayers
Summary: For better, for worse. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, till death do us part. Donghyuck would never let go.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51
Collections: Markhyuck Week 2021





	together

**Author's Note:**

> cw for typical apocalypse violence/death etc. also implied suicidal ideation - it's all very brief and heavily on the implied side

Donghyuck watches Mark as he sleeps, the rise and fall of his chest anything but calming. He should be sleeping too, but it was impossible. Donghyuck’s mind was constantly running a mile a minute thinking about what lay ahead for them. How much ground they could cover before Mark needed to rest (the fact Mark always needed to rest, that it was more of a question of how far they could go without pushing Mark over the edge), how with each passing day Mark looked more gaunt than the previous one. The dark circles under his eyes are permanent fixtures now, and Mark tries his hardest to hide the tremors of his hands but Donghyuck notices everything – he always does with Mark. 

Mark turns onto his side, his back to Donghyuck. There’s silence in the cabin and for a moment panic seizes Donghyuck’s chest, but then he hears that familiar sound, a loud exhale of air and he calms himself. Donghyuck wraps an arm around Mark’s waist and places his hand over Mark’s heart. The faint _thump thump thump_ slowly pulls him into a fitful sleep. 

There’s nothing soothing about watching over the man you love every night in case one of those rattling exhales is his last. 

…

Donghyuck dreams he is being chased. He can’t see what is chasing him but he doesn’t need to see it to know what it is – the tall looming figures, their sharp claws and the rotting wrinkled flesh that says off their bodies. The images are ingrained in Donghyuck’s brain – they’ll never leave him, not even in the afterlife. It’s horrible. Donghyuck runs. 

He hears a sound, the crunch of bones and he feels like he’s going to be sick. There’s a pale blur to his right and then he sees it – another one just ahead. Donghyuck is debating his next move, trying to figure out how he is going to escape this one when there is a scream and Donghyuck’s heart starts racing even faster in his chest. 

“Donghyuck!”

Mark. Donghyuck would recognise that voice anywhere. 

“Mark?” Donghyuck shouts out into the trees. He can feel his chest start to tighten as he listens out, tries to work out what direction Mark’s voice is coming from. 

There’s another scream and then another sickening crunch. Donghyuck trips and cries out. He hears the snapping of twigs and the pounding of feet against the dirt floor. A foul smell fills the air and Donghyuck chokes as he scrambles to his feet. 

There’s a pressure on his back forcing him back to the ground. Before the beast can snap him in half Donghyuck wakes up in a cold sweat. 

...

When people found out Donghyuck was married at 22, they were always surprised. “You’re so young!”, they would say, “Wow, why now? Why not wait?” 

Donghyuck learned to let it roll off his back – he’d never been in the habit of explaining himself to strangers before and he wasn’t about to start now. It wasn’t any of their business and Donghyuck knew he had made the right choice. Mark Lee was the only one for him. 

They’d known each other since they were kids, had been dating since they were teenagers. Donghyuck knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Mark, so what was the point in waiting until they were 25 or 30 or even older? 

“Why not?” Donghyuck always answered in response. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

It’s ironic that barely a year later the world decides to throw the worst at them. 

...

“I found some berries,” Mark says. 

Donghyuck turns from the river to see Mark lowering himself down onto a rock, holding out a hand of red fruits. 

“You shouldn’t just go around eating any old berries from trees.” Donghyuck says. He turns back to the water so he can finish filling up their bottles. “They might be poisonous.”

“I’d rather that than being torn apart by whatever’s lurking out there,” Mark murmurs. 

Donghyuck carries on as though he hadn’t heard him. Although they’re surrounded by it, death isn’t something he likes to think about. If he thinks about either of them dying he spirals. He wouldn’t be able to make it alone without Mark, or if he did, he wouldn’t want to. Mark sure as hell wasn’t going to make it far without him – they have his injury to thank for that. Donghyuck takes a breath to ground himself. He puts his water bottle in the single backpack they own and climbs over to rocks to pass Mark his. 

“Thanks,” Mark says, giving Donghyuck the smallest of smiles. It’s all he needs – the dark clouds that hang over him diminish for just a second whenever Mark smiles at him. Mark’s a lot of things – depressed, ill and exhausted – but he’s always grateful. Donghyuck tucks away those small moments to look back on later, when he needs extra strength to push himself forward. 

When Mark’s taken a few sips, he hands Donghyuck back the bottle so he can put it away. Donghyuck holds out his hands and helps Mark to his feet. Mark sighs heavily, and Donghyuck knows exactly what’s going through his mind. _Leave me here. I’m holding you back. You’d be better off without me_. Donghyuck continues like they haven’t had this conversation over a dozen times. He refuses to even consider it. 

“Come on. We should start moving before it gets too dark.” Donghyuck says. 

Mark takes his hand and they begin to walk. 

…

Mark’s always been quick to fall ill. Every year during winter like clockwork he starts to sniffle and eventually gets so bogged down he’s bedridden. Donghyuck had been by his side caring for him since they were young – they go through the motions of getting Mark into bed and Donghyuck cooks him food and makes sure he’s staying hydrated until he’s feeling better again. 

“This always happens,” Mark had said this year, head buried in his pillow. “You just want to enjoy your time off but then your body says no, fuck you.”

Donghyuck had laughed at that, carding a hand through Mark’s hair. “Well maybe you should listen to it. You need to take breaks more often. You work too hard.”

Mark had hummed in response and it had taken Donghyuck weeks before he managed to convince Mark to lessen his workload. 

It’s typical that when the world starts to fall apart Mark falls ill again. It’s different without easy access to medicine and it’s made ten times worse when Mark falls and sprains his ankle. They can’t stop – the horrifying night where they almost got skinned alive is still stuck in Donghyuck’s mind – so they have to keep moving. Of course, that doesn’t help Mark’s ankle. It doesn’t help his snotty nose and it doesn’t help his mood either. 

Donghyuck wishes they could go back to the time when he’d wake Mark up with the smell of chicken noodle soup and they’d lie in bed and watch Netflix until Mark passed out beside him. You never know what you miss until it’s gone. 

…

They make it to shelter before nightfall. Relief washes over Donghyuck, but he can’t let his guard down. He triple checks the locks on the doors and windows, pulls all the curtains and blinds shut and refuses to turn on the overhead light. 

Mark’s lit by candlelight as he rests on the ratty sofa, eyes closed as he breathes through the pain. Donghyuck lingers to watch him for a moment before he has to turn away. He heads to unpack their single bag instead. 

“If I remember correctly, there was a small town not far from here.” Donghyuck says when he’s finished. “We could try and head there. Get some actual supplies. Food, more clothes.”

“Whatever you want.” Mark says. He doesn’t open his eyes and Donghyuck presses his lips together. 

“What do _you_ want, Mark?” Donghyuck asks. He shouldn’t provoke him, not when they’re both at rock bottom, but sometimes the words just fly out before he can stop them. 

Mark opens one eye and levels him with a look that says all the things Donghyuck doesn’t want to hear. “You know the answer to that.” 

Donghyuck heads to the bedroom. He closes his eyes as he grips onto the sink, takes in ten deep breaths. The anger bubbles inside of him but he can’t let it take him. They’re all they have left. All the people they’ve seen in the past however many weeks have been torn to pieces, bloody limbs scattered for miles around. Donghyuck knows Mark’s will to live is nonexistent, he understands that he will never know how painful it is for Mark to physically make it through each day. 

By the time he has calmed down he feels broken. 

Donghyuck does one last check of the locks before he strips off and climbs under the dusty covers of the double bed. He cries quietly for everything they had and everything they’d lost. 

Exhaustion takes him. He wakes up with a jolt to a pitch black room and the feeling of Mark’s hand gripping at his bicep, the sound of his raspy breathing comforting in Donghyuck’s ear. He lies there and listens like he does every other night. 

Donghyuck will find a place for them. Somewhere they can stay for a while, somewhere Mark can truly heal and rest. It was hard, but there was never any question about what his priorities were. Mark comes first, always. 

For better, for worse. In sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, till death do us part. Donghyuck would never let go. 

…

“I fucking knew it!” 

Donghyuck lets out a triumphant laugh, the first genuine one he can remember for a while. The small town up ahead looks deserted, but he knows better than to assume it truly is. Just because the sun is up doesn’t mean the monsters have crawled their way back into the woods just yet. Still – a place where they can hopefully find food, shelter and _rest_. Donghyuck was so happy he could cry. 

“We’re not quite there just yet.” Mark laughs quietly at his enthusiasm. When they’d woken up that morning he’d held Donghyuck’s face between his hands and pressed their foreheads together for what felt like an eternity. An apology. Donghyuck accepts even though Mark had nothing to apologise for. 

Donghyuck ignores the dead bodies on the ground as they walk forward. They’re nothing more than rotting flesh now, and the sight never gets easier to stomach. Months ago this would have been a bustling tourist town and now it was a desolate nightmare. Donghyuck is cautious – he watches and waits for any sign of trouble. 

“Oh my god,” Mark mumbles and Donghyuck freezes. 

“What?” He looks around, hand going to the metal bar at his belt. 

“Look!” 

Mark points forward. Amongst the rubble a single black cat watches them with bright yellow eyes. Mark coos and starts clicking his fingers. It watches them for a little longer, sizing them up, before it hops down off the debris and starts to make its way towards them. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Donghyuck says. His mind is racing – they shouldn’t linger out in the open for two long. They don’t know how the monsters reproduce – the last thing he needs is for them to be torn to shreds by some mangy cat. 

“Calm down Hyuck, it’s just a cat,” Mark says. 

But what if it’s not? Donghyuck eyes the cat and it stares right back at him. 

The cat meows. 

“You’re cute, huh,” Mark says, crouching down the best he can and holding out his hand. 

There’s a gunshot and Donghyuck jumps, pushing Mark’s body to the ground and diving over the top of him. Mark’s eyes are wide and Donghyuck’s sure his own expression is a mirror image. He lifts his head slowly and gasps when he spots the rotting beast on the ground a few hundred yards behind them. 

There’s a figure. They unload the rest of their bullets into the monster and then they run forward, towards Donghyuck and Mark. Donghyuck gets up and helps Mark to his feet. He grabs hold of the bar and waits. 

Whoever it is, they’re human. Dark hair, a concerned look on his face. He takes in their appearance and then spots the cat and sighs. 

“There you are!” He exclaims. “Renjun’s going to be so pissed.”

He picks up the car and turns back to them both. “That thing was going to get you both. They can be pretty stealthy when they want to be.” He says. “You’re lucky I decided today was a good day to go for a walk.”

“Well thanks.” Mark says when Donghyuck doesn’t move. “There’s more than one of you?”

“A whole group.” The newcomer says. “I’m Jaemin. Is it just the two of you?”

Mark nods. “Yeah. I’m Mark and this is Donghyuck.”

Jaemin looks at Donghyuck’s waist. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He says. “If I was some bloodthirsty killer I would have shot you by now.”

Donghyuck knows that. He feels like he should be over the moon – this is the first time they’ve seen someone alive and well since this all began – and yet he feels queasy, worried that there’s a catch. It wouldn’t be the first time since this all began that something has felt too good to be true. 

“Can you help us?” Mark asks. “We could really use some place safe to stay.”

Jaemin nods. “I’m sure we can squeeze in two more. It’s this way.” Jaemin turns and starts walking down the road, back towards the monster's destroyed body. 

“Hyuck?” Mark tugs at Donghyuck’s hand. “This is what you wanted.”

Mark’s right. The reminder knocks the sense back into him. It is what he wanted. Whatever Jaemin could offer them would be better than whatever they could find alone between the two of them. Jaemin had given them a choice. It would be silly of them not to take it. 

“Let’s go.” Donghyuck says. 

Mark squeezes his hand gently and they walk forward together. 

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/seothsayers)


End file.
